Blogs from Isla del Sol, La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 5

Lake Titicaca - Island of the sun. By Tina Torres After backpacking around Bolivia for a month everything is a bit dirty, a bit stinky and a bit worn out, especially me! We have been constantly on the go, finding buses, finding accommodation, finding food, finding that monument that is on the map but not on the street. I am glad to be on Isla de Sol, (Island of the Sun) for a genuine break and a chance to find me. Lake Titicaca, which is situated on the border of Bolivia and Peru. Isla de Sol is one of many islands in the lake, Although it is a lake, its 230km length and 97km width make it seem more like an ocean perched at 3820m above sea level. When you arrive in the southern village of ... read more

(It's okay. You can laugh.) We headed to the famous Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America. Our Lonely Planet guidebook states (in different chapters) that it is the highest navigable lake in the world, and that it is often erroneously described as the highest navigable lake. (?!?) One thing is for sure, it is the most laughed at name in all of South America. Lake Titicaca is also the foundation of the great Tiwanaku civilization, possibly the biggest civilization you've never heard of. As such, the Lake is also the home of one of the most sacred spots in the Incan religion, the people who stood on the shoulders of Tiwanaku, but ruled for only a few hundred years. To get there, we took 3 uncomfortable mini-buses (jam-packed mini-vans) and a boat to Copacabana, ... read more

Arrived in Copacabana after a 9hr bus journey from Cusco. It wasn´t bad except the mad old bint next to us kept opening the sky light window which we and several other passengers kept closing. we gave up in the end and kept warm beneath our llama woven blankets. We alighted the bus at around 8am the following morning along with several other travllers and were bundled into the slowest mini bus ever. So slow in fact that we were taken over by a car full of sheep! Yes, that´s right. Sheep! They weren´t actually driving the car but were passangers aboard the cramped vessel. The journey from where we alighted took us about 20minutes as we had to drive to boarder control before we could enter Bolivia. (Another stamp to add to our collection!) By ... read more

Mit einem kleinen Boot dass in der Schweiz vermutlich fuer 20 Personen zugelassen waere, tuckerten wir mit 50 Personen an Board (im Schrittempo 2h) Richtung Isla del Sol. Im Norden der Insel befindet sich eine alte Inka Ruine mit einem Opferstein (nicht sehr spektakulaer). Statt mit dem Boot auf die Suedseite der Insel zu fahren, entschieden wir uns fuer den dreistuendigen Fussmarsch einmal quer ueber die Insel. Die Insel zeigt sich dabei relativ karg. Dennoch bauen die Einheimischen kleine Terassen, um eine ebene Flaeche zu erhalten, und pflanzen vorwiegend Mais und Kartoffeln an. Der ganze Ausflug war nett, aber eigentlich haetten wir mehr erwartet, auch von der Umgebung am Titicacasee. Wir lassen uns einmal von Puno (dass auch am Titicacasee, aber auf der peruanischen Seite liegt) ueberraschen.... read more

We just got back from isla del sol, well ok we have had breakfast and slpt for about five hours since but whatever. The boat to the island took an inordinatly long amount of time as we chugged along in the weird hot-cold weather that if found at this hight. On the island we set off on a walk from the southern tip to the north, i dont think at first andrew was convinced that this was a brilliant idea. It was long and hot but has the most beautiful views. Allong the way we had to pay several taxes, i couldnt realy work out what for but i think they were for the preservation of some archiological sites we never saw. At some point we lost confidence that we were on the correct path as ... read more